The Good
The Will and Marko's ex-fiance, Gwendolyn, team up to get the sex slave girl off the planet Sextillion, which we saw in an earlier issue.
While I may have had (see below) a few small problems with The Will carrying his own issue, I still thought this was a nice change of pace and an incredibly solid story. While the Will is this super-tough bounty hunter, we get to see he has a softer side, as he tries any way he can to get the Slave Girl from Phang off of Sextillion. We know he's capable of more than just his job title, since he has a relationship with The Stalk, before she died.
We also get a real look into who and what Gwendolyn is. She's a woman whose heart was broken when Marko left her, and she wants revenge. She isn't a horrible person, but she can't let go of the past. While she's a character, on the surface, you're supposed to hate, you just can't do it because you can feel her emotional pain throughout this issue.
There seems to be a lot more to Slave Girl than we thought before She has some sort of powers, and it is going to prove useful for The Will and Gwendolyn as they try to find Marko. It's a great introduction to this character (Yes, I know we've met her before, but this time we get to know a lot more about her) and I'm very interested to learn more.
This is something writer Brian K Vaughan does amazingly well: roping in the reader. He gives you some of the essential information right away, just enough to have you ask "what's going to happen next?" While we're only 9 issues in, and we're still learning a lot about this world, I'm hooked on this book more than any other one I've ever read (yes, even more than Y: THE LAST MAN).
There's only a few artists and writers I'll call myself a "fanboy" of. Obviously, I'm a BKV fanboy, and now, I can finally come out and say I'm a Fiona Staples fanboy. I know every month this book comes out, I praise some of the awesome/gross things she does in each issue, and I mean every word of it. I love her style and her color usage. Staples and BKV are a great team.
The Bad
First, Brian K Vaughan is a huge tease with that opening scene. How dare you get my hopes up about The Stalk That's the saddest moment of the issue for me.
I was really excited when I found out The Will was going to carry his own issue, but after reading it, I found he works much better as a secondary character, rather than carrying his own issue. Compared to the rest of the series, this was my least favorite issue, but my least favorite issue of SAGA beats out the vast majority of good books on the shelves anyway.
The Verdict
SAGA 9 does not disappoint. The Will is the main focus in this issue, and while I felt it lacked a bit because he couldn't carry the issue as well and Marko and Alana could, it was still a great read. We get deeper into Marko's past, by meeting Gwedolyn, and we find out there's a lot more to the Slave Girl than originally thought. The writing and art are fantastic as always, and it leaves you wanting more.
Overall, I highly recommend this issue and this series.